YeeHaaw! I can still fly!

[Mitch Cronin]

It's been a couple years since I've flown anything at all... and even then, the last time was brief and it was probably a year or more before that too?... I don't remember...

This year I paid up my Model Aircraft Association Canada fees (gets you insurance among other things I'm not too clear on, but you can't join a club without it), thinking I'd join the local club again, but found I was a bit too timid to do so... any time I went to the local field I felt I couldn't confront my nerves in front of all...

Anyway, today, I figured there'd be nobody there, so I loaded up my trusty old trainer and the field box in the truck and headed over to the field. Much to my chagrin, there was a fellow there cutting grass, so I started heading back home.... and thinking... The road I was on was the road I'd taught myself how to fly on... nobody else was around... the guy cutting grass wasn't about to hop off his lawnmower and start flying (he had a lot of grass to cut)... so, screw it! Why not!?

I stopped the truck, pulled everything out, gave the receiver battery a quick field charge, rechecked it and the xmitter's voltage... fired the little beast up and took off away from me, down the gravel road.... She still flew! ...and better still, I could still manage to keep her airborne!

The landing was a bit off the center of the road (flying away from me, and uphill toward a railway track) and it wound up a little long and cocked toward the shoulder, so I just let it run into the tall grass at the shoulder and stop...

YeeeeHaaaaw!! I can still do it!!

[deicer]

That's great Mitch!

Are you now entertaining thoughts of building yourself a project? And if you could, what would it be?

Iceman

[J.O.]

Are you now entertaining thoughts of building yourself a project? And if you could, what would it be?

How 'bout a Strat with wings?

[Mitch Cronin]

I was typing out a response earlier when the forum crashed... or at least from this perspective it did...

A Strat with wings would be cool! ....I've seen a witch on a broom that flies... a lawnmower... a Snoopy on his doghouse... and a few other wierd things, but a Strat would be pretty original I think!... hmmmm....

Actually Iceman, I have a whole bunch of projects in various states of unfinishedness, and a workshop that already seems too small... If I ever decide to move out to the garage I may get into larger scale stuff... maybe even build a DC10 in 1/20 scale (since I have the perfect drawing for it)... But maybe a large warbird... 1/4 scale Mustang, Spit, P47 maybe...?

...fun to dream in any case.

[J.O.]

I've seen several 1/4 scale warbirds including the P51 and the F4U4 and they were beautiful. However, if you do elect to try to fly a Strat, I wanna be there for it! You never know, it might even get you invited to Intrepid Aviation!

[Steam Driven]

Here's one for you to "cut your teeth on" Mitch...

This 1/9th scale radio-controlled C-17 model was built in the United Kingdom. To date it has about 20

flights. It was built as the centerpiece of a 15 program television series produced in the U.K. for the Home

and Leisure satellite TV channel. Built with the aid of three friends, it took 1 year to build and is powered

with 4 Jetcat P-120 turbines with a total thrust of 108 lbs. The models weighs over 250 lbs fuelled, and

carries 12.5 liters (3.3 US gallons) of 95% kerosene and 5% turbine oil fuel. Other details include 5 Futaba

PCM receivers, 16 battery packs (93 cells), 20 Futaba servos, on board air compressor, electro/pneumatic

retracts, etc. The four builders are shown in the lower left image above. Colin Straus is at the nose of the

aircraft. Wingspan is 20 feet 8 inches, and the top of the fin is 74 inches (6 feet 2 inches) above the ground.

Takeoff weight is 264 lbs. The rear cargo doors open and they drop an r/c jeep on a pallet, as well as 2

freefall r/c parachutists. The model also has smoke systems both of the inboard turbines, and uses 2.4 GHz

data link to provide real-time data to a laptop computer on the ground while in flight, this data includes

airspeed, turbine RPM, EGT, fuel consumption, etc. It is covered in fiberglass and epoxy resin. Built mainly

from balsa and ply, with many glass and carbon fiber moldings to reduce weight. This C-17 Globemaster III

is one of the largest jet models in the world today! Complete with retractable landing gear and pneumatically

operated flaps

[Specs]

Bought a Fire Commander for my best friends son recently (10 yrs old). It's a beginners plane, all electric - $150.00 gets you up and running. It was his first plane.

Ladner is dead flat and in the early evening we just walked across the street into a farmers field laying fallow with tall grass. I hand launched and he flew it. Boy that thing moved a lost faster than I would I have thought. Really quiet too which was great. It's a beginners plane and it did eventually crash. He was heart broken and really hard on himself for ruining the best toy he ever had in only minutes. The thing is though the grass cushioned the crash and the damaged consisted simply of a busted rear fuse, which is just a 16" tapered rod about the diameter of a fishing rod connecting the fwd fuse to the tail surfaces, and a damaged elevator. We found a pen that looked about the right diameter and clamped it over fuse break. The Tail was fixed with some well placed and crafted duct tape. I was gonna leave the weight and balance issue for him to identify and solve on his own. Anyways, he was thrilled and awed at how easy it was to fix which he did himself. What a confidence boost for him. We were back in business in no time. He did eventually figure out the weight and balance thing but his soln was to go with more elevator deflection. I let it go. Live and learn - just have fun.

I think he's hooked.